


The Black Rose

by shadowcat720



Category: Original Work
Genre: Audio Format: MP3, Fantasy, Gen, Pirates, Podfic Available, Podfic Length: 0-10 Minutes, Reader-Insert, no y/n
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-27
Updated: 2020-11-27
Packaged: 2021-03-10 00:41:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 744
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27735502
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/shadowcat720/pseuds/shadowcat720
Summary: She was a legendary pirate ship, one of those tales passed along by sea-farers stuck in port with little better to do than drink and make up stories to entertain the locals and each other.
Kudos: 2





	The Black Rose

**Author's Note:**

> Audio version available [here](https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FUt5krYwNRSurGpj50Zu9SiYJECxUmZt/view?usp=sharing).

The _Black Rose_ was known as the safest ship on the Seven Seas. None of her crew ever drowned. She sailed through storms without incident, without a single fatality. She was a legendary pirate ship, one of those tales passed along by sea-farers stuck in port with little better to do than drink and make up stories to entertain the locals and each other.

You were desperate, needed to get out of the country and knew how to sail. This ship was going away, far away, and that was where you needed to go, so it was perfect.

Everything was normal at first. The Captain ran a tight ship, but he was fair and everyone did their share of work. You never felt singled out as the newbie. The crew had a light-hearted, devil-may-care attitude that you appreciated and you decided that you had gotten lucky. Sure, the name of the ship was the same as the one in that tale, but plenty of ships were named after stories. It was hardly unique. At least it wasn’t something like _Davey Jones’ Locker_ or the _Dread Doubloon._

Then, one day, the ship sailed into a bad storm. The seas were churning, the sky was dark and lightning flashed, too close for comfort. You told the Captain this was madness, you begged him to turn the ship around, but he just shook his head.

“Just you wait and see,” he said. “We’ll be right.”

You thought he was insane, but you had no choice except to do what you were told and help the rest of the crew keep the ship afloat.

It was an inevitable accident. The waves tilted the boat, the deck was slippery. The water made everything slick and your fingers slipped. You lost your grip and your footing and fell into the dark sea.

You tried to keep your head above water. You were a good swimmer (what self-respecting pirate wasn’t?), but you soon found yourself underwater, lungs burning, no idea which way was up.

One of your crew-mates must have jumped into the ocean after you because you found yourself being grabbed around the waist and pulled up until your head was above the waves. You were too weak with exhaustion and air-loss to do anything to help your rescuer, you were dead weight.

Your rescuer handed you up to the First Mate, who was in a life-raft. You, coughing and spitting up water, turned to see who had braved the storm-tossed sea to rescue you.

All you saw was a tail, blue and finned, swishing above the water for a moment before disappearing below the waves. You blinked. A dolphin? Dolphins didn’t have hands, though, or tails like that.

“What’s going on?” you asked the First Mate.

“This is the _Black Rose,_ ” he said. “No one who sails on this ship drowns.”

As if that explained anything. “Why does no one drown?” you ask, hoping to get a clearer answer. “Who pulled me up?”

“A siren, kid. They’re always around, deep under the sea. Mighty dangerous, they are. Hear them sing and you won’t be able to help yourself. You’ll drown yourself trying to get down to them.”

You had heard of sirens. The stories matched up with what the First Mate said.

“Why help me, then? Shouldn’t it have pulled me down?”

“Not when you sail with this ship, kid. See, the Captain, a few years ago he came across one caught in a net. You know how valuable such a find would be, kid.”

You did. Proof that the creatures existed would be priceless. Whoever found it would be famous and most likely rich beyond their wildest dreams if they sold the specimen.

“But the Captain, see, he wasn’t out for money. Well, he was, he’s a pirate ain’t he, but that kind of find was too big for his liking. He didn’t want that kind of fame. So he let the creature go. Now, wherever we sail, anyone goes overboard, the sirens bring them back up for us. Any storm we sail through, we always get out all right.”

So, you thought, this was the _Black Rose,_ the very one from the tales.

You weren’t sure whether this was good luck or bad luck for you. You were glad that you hadn’t drowned, but you had never intended to be part of a story. Stories like this often ended badly. You just hoped that this one didn’t.


End file.
